Confessions
by Matatabi-chan
Summary: After Naruto became Hokage, he and Sakura drifted apart until she had had enough. The two trade angry words before she storms from his office only to be found drunk in a bar. Naruto takes care of her as she drunkenly admits her deepest secret. (Kinks and Mistakes fixed!)


Sakura stood with Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji in the Hokage's office. They had just arrived back from a mission to Rain where Sakura was needed to help heal many villagers of a mysterious disease. Sakura wasn't pleased to have three friends placed on watch when the Hokage knew full well that one friend would be more than enough help. The Hokage knew her better than anyone else did, especially since he was her partner and teammate since they were children. It had been three years since Naruto had been sworn into the title of Hokage and they had tried to stay close after wards but after a while, it became difficult to arrange a time to even talk for a few minutes, slowly it turned into the Hokage and the ninja.

"Thanks." Naruto said as he walked over to his desk. Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji nodded and turned to leave but Sakura stayed in her place. Naruto looked at her confused. "Sakura-chan, everything okay?" He asked. Sakura felt herself twist inside. She had realized she had feelings for him back when he was given the Hokage title, and they only grew stronger as time went by and she was unable to see or really talk with him.

"Why did you send Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji with me? You know I only needed one person with me. You know better than anyone that I can take care of myself." She crossed her arms and gave a small glare. "You've been doing this more and more since our team split up. I'm not some weak ninja who doesn't know anything."

Naruto put his hands up in defense. He was 20 and Hokage but Sakura still knew how to keep him honest. "I know you can take care of yourself. I just… you're the best medical ninja and I don't want you or any of the others to get hurt." He tried but Sakura wasn't buying it. She knew him too well.

"I'm not one of those low rank ninja and I am not a child." She told him.

"I never said you-."

"Then don't treat me like one. Don't lie to me."

"Like you lied to me?" Naruto shot out but covered his mouth as soon as it left it. Sakura paused and looked at him stunned. "I didn't… Sakura-chan!" He called as she turned and left without another word. All he could do was drop into his desk chair with his head in his hands. He knew he hurt her. he had been trying to push off his feelings for her as they slowly lost touch, thinking it would be better so she could find a man to take care of her and he wouldn't have any more loved ones in more danger than they should be in. He loved her and he was never going to get over that, but when she was yelling at him he couldn't help but let a little of his pain slip out. Naruto decided to let her be. Him going after her would only cause her to become more angry than she already was. He slumped back as he tried to think of what to do.

It was late, Naruto had finished his work early, but he had just sat in his dark office thinking about how he had hurt Sakura. He couldn't forget it. Naruto closed his eyes as he turned the corner of a street against the through flying through his mind, only opening it when he ran into someone. "Naruto!" He heard before he saw Ino walking closer with her hands on her hips.

"Ino." Naruto said sure that Sakura had told her what he had done. He was ready for the young woman to beat him for her best friend.

"You're out late." She gave a small smile. "And walking into people. Geeze."

"Yeah well I was just…" He trailed off not knowing exactly what to say.

Ino rolled shook her head. "You're about as bad as Sakura tonight. You and Forehead are so in sync as always." Naruto looked away. "I know you guys haven't had much time to see each other since you became Hokage, but don't forget us little ninjas in that big office of yours." She laughed but stopped seeing pain come to Naruto's face. "Did you and Sakura have another fight? She told me to go away when I found her in the bar."

"I said some stupid things." Naruto said looking at the young woman. Since she had begun, dating Choji things had begun to change. She was happy and was the best friend Sakura remembered from childhood, with a few competitions to keep it fun. She was willing to reach out and she found ways to stay in touch with everyone, even Naruto with his busy Hokage schedule.

"You two have been through so much of you saying and doing stupid stuff. Why don't you do what you always do and go talk to her." Ino offered but Naruto shook his head. "Look I know you're Hokage and all but you're still the biggest idiot I know. If Sakura's mad at you it's because you did something insensitive and ignored the fact that she cares for you."

"She told me not to lie to her and I… I…" He trailed off before taking a breath. "I shot back with like she lied to me."

Ino gasped knowing about the one major lie Sakura had told Naruto. "Naruto!" She hollered making him flinch. "You should know better than to-."

"I know, I know." He shook his head. "I didn't mean to. I just…" He trailed off shaking his head.

"Go talk to her." Naruto snapped his blue eyes to the pale ones of Ino. "I know I should probably beat the crap out of you for Sakura, but… you should talk to her. she's in the bar. I think it's time you tell her how you feel about her. Even though everyone knows it already you should tell her you love her."

"Ino-."

"Don't start with me Naruto. Just do what I say." She pointed her finger in his face. "You go take care of her and tell her exactly how you feel. I'm tired of seeing you two dance around. I mean you've had feelings for each other since we were 16 and now you two just want to try to forget that. Go." Naruto looked confused but a glare from Ino got him moving towards the bar a few doors down.

"Welcome Hokage-sama." A waitress said as she bowed slightly from behind the counter. Naruto nodded to the woman before he scanned the smoky room. He paused as his eyes fell on Sakura, still in her mission outfit, bent over a drink at the bar. He could see the slightly drunk look on her face as he moved closer.

"Sakura-chan." He said making her glance at him. "You've had enough. Let's go."

Sakura turned back to her drink. "Naruto…" She paused staring into her drink. "I wasn't lying about my confession at the summit." Naruto froze. Sakura was telling him she really did love him, but did she really mean it or was it because she was drunk. He decided it would be better to take her somewhere to sleep off the alcohol before he tried to talk to her. Moving closer Naruto reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Come on Sakura, you've had enough to drink. You don't know what you're saying, let's go before you say or do something you'll regret later." He said as he pulled her to her feet. She looked at him and furrowed her brows. "Let's go." He paid her bill and started to help her walk out into the clear streets of the village.

"Naruto-."

"Let's just get you somewhere that you can sleep this off before we talk." He told her making her look away with tears in her eyes.

"Just take me home." She slurred slightly but Naruto wasn't letting her move away, he held her against him as he helped her walk.

"My place is closer." He said and took her to his apartment. A place she hadn't been to since he was named the sixth Hokage.

Once in the apartment Naruto sat her on the couch. "Naruto…" She said looking up at him with glazed eyes.

"Just relax, I'll get you some water, and then you should get some sleep." Naruto said walking away. He didn't want either of them to do or say something they would regret while she was intoxicated. Walking back, he found her leaning forward with her head in her hands. "Sakura-chan…" He said as he set the glass on the table.

"I…" She looked up at him sadly. "I'm sorry, Naruto…I, I didn't mean to get so upset. I just. Naruto…" She trailed off as she shook her head and looked away. "I really wasn't lying." Naruto sat on the couch next to her. He didn't know what to say or do. He watched as she shook her head. "I'm sorry." Naruto shook his head and pulled her to him as she started to cry repeating how sorry she was.

"It's okay. Sakura-chan, you don't have anything to be sorry for." He told her softly as he held her tightly. "Don't cry."

Sakura pulled away trying to avoid his bright blue gaze. "I… I should go…" She said as she tried to stand up and stumbled to the side making Naruto catch her.

"You need to sleep." Naruto told her. "You can sleep here for the night. You can't go home like this." He started leading her towards his bedroom but at the door way she stopped. "I'll take the couch. Just get some sleep."

"No, I can't… Naruto…" Sakura looked at him. Her green eyes locked with his blue ones and she couldn't move. "I don't deserve you taking care of me. You don't deserve to have me-."

"You deserve more." Naruto cut her off.

"Naruto…" The two stood in the doorway of his bedroom gazing into each other's eyes. Sakura leaned closer and Naruto slowly leaned in pausing a minute to search her green eyes before connecting their lips. It started gentle and turned passionate quickly, both trying to show their feelings in the connection.

Sakura felt the doorjamb against her back as she took a step back taking Naruto with her. She couldn't believe what she was feeling. She knew she had feelings for the young man standing in front of her but she hadn't realized how strong they were until he kissed her. She wasn't sure if it was her feelings or the alcohol making her so brave but she started leading Naruto back towards his bed. Sakura fell back onto it, pulling Naruto with her.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto trailed off as he pulled back to look down at her. "I… we…" He stopped and looked at her. Shifting his weight onto his one elbow, he gently ran his other hand over her cheek. "You're drunk. We can't do this." He pushed himself up and backed away breathing slowly. "There-there's some sweat pants and tee shirts in the third drawer if you want to change. I'll be in the living room if you need anything." He turned and left before he lost control again; leaving Sakura lying on his bed trying to process what had just happened.

Naruto sat on the couch heavily, closing his eyes and dropping his head back. "You're a good guy, Naruto." A deep voice echoed in his mind before he was standing in front of the giant nine tailed fox. "Taking in the girl who hurt you, making sure she's okay and not taking advantage of her."

"I wouldn't let anything happen to her. That includes me doing something to her. She's not herself." Naruto told Kurama.

"She's grown up a lot. Turned from a weak little girl to a strong beautiful woman." Naruto could only nod as he thought of Sakura kissing him. "You've always loved her. Why don't you believe she loves you?" Naruto looked at him and furrowed his eyes.

"You should know the answer better than anyone why she couldn't love me. Why no one could." Naruto threw his hands up. "No one can love me; I'm not like everyone else. I'm here to keep everyone safe and happy. Besides if anyone was with me it would only put them in more danger."

"You don't mean that." Kurama said making Naruto look away. "You love that girl and she loves you. Open your eyes twerp. She may be drunk now but she's not lying, you can't deny that. Even you can sense she's telling the truth." Kurama roared. Naruto looked at the fox who had become a close friend. "Don't even try to deny it. I can see it, I know."

"I know Kurama. I can't. If I give in then it could mean putting her in even more danger, and I don't want to risk losing the friendship we have." Naruto argued

"That's only an excuse. Besides what friendship do you have when you've only been able to talk when you're giving her missions. Not much of a friendship if you ask me." Kurama threw at him making him flinch. "You should have a chance at happiness. Nothing will hurt her; you and I both know neither of us would let that happen. so stop with the excuses." Naruto looked at the fox, surprised at how much he was pushing for him to become a couple with Sakura.

"Naruto?" They heard and suddenly Naruto snapped his eyes open. Looking off to the side, he found Sakura in his clothes leaning against the doorframe to his bedroom. He jumped to his feet and went to her side.

"Sakura-chan." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him.

"I just need a drink of water." She explained as he helped her walk to the couch and sit down before he picked up the forgotten glass from earlier and handed it to her. "Thanks." She said softly. The two sat silently for a few minutes as she finished her water. "Look Naruto…. I'm sorry about earlier. I just-."

Naruto dropped his lips to hers. "Don't." He said softly as she looked at him with shock in her eyes as they connected with his. "Don't take it back." Sakura paused a minute before she leaned in crushing her lips to his and again there was an explosion between the two.

The two pulled apart and they could see the love in each other's gaze. "Naruto…" She gently touched the whisker marks on his cheeks and felt the stubble of his beard making her give a small smile, just another fact that they were grown up. "I love you."

Naruto grinned at her. "I love you too, Sakura-chan." He told her before crushing her to him in a loving kiss. Naruto pulled back and took a slow deep breath. "We should go to sleep; we can talk about this in the morning." Sakura gave a small nod before the he stood up and walked with her back into the bedroom to rest before they dealt with what this night really meant.

The next morning Sakura slowly opened her eyes and looked around rubbing her eyes. Suddenly the night before snapped back into her hazy memory. The conversations and actions rolled into her head making her jump to her feet as fast as she could before she realized what she was wearing. She froze a minute before she heard the sound of dishes being moved around and it sent pain through her head as she opened the door. She found Naruto with his back to her as he moved around the kitchen quickly cooking. She held her head as he accidently put the pan down too hard on the stove.

"Sakura!" Naruto jumped as he glanced at the door and found her standing there holding her head. He quickly moved to her. "Headache?"

"Yeah." She said softly before she tinted her hand green and eased her pain. "Comes in handy to be a medic." She smirked up at him, but as soon as their eyes met, they knew she needed to try to fix what she might have messed up last night. "Naruto, about last night…"

"You remember?" He asked half-worried and half-happy.

Sakura paused before she nodded. "I don't want to ruin anything. I know I said and did a lot but if you don't want-."

"Don't want? Sakura-chan, I…" Naruto stepped back not sure what to do. He hadn't realized how much hope he had let himself have until he felt his heart begin to break as she started. Realizing what he was thinking Sakura reached out and pulled him to her side again, looking up into his blue worried eyes.

"No. Naruto. That's not what I meant at all." She gently laid her hand on his cheek and gave a small smile. "I just don't want you to feel like you have to say anything or do anything because of me. I don't want to take anything back but-." She was cut off by a deep kiss from Naruto. Pulling back, she saw a small smile on his face. "Naruto…"

"Sakura-chan, I don't want you to take it back. I know I've been a real jerk since I got Hokage and all but I never stopped thinking about you." He ran his hand along her cheek.

"I've missed just being near you." Sakura said softly as she moved closer to him. "I love you, and it's only been growing." Naruto captured her lip in a passionate kiss and before either realized what they were doing Sakura was backed up against the wall. He pulled back and looked at her as she smirked up at him.

"I'm sorry I was such a jerk." He said resting his forehead against hers. Sakura laughed softly as she pulled away looking into his blue eyes.

"You have the rest of our lives to make up for it." Naruto grinned making her laugh more.

"Promise?"

Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck still laughing. "Of course." The two leaned in for another kiss when there was pounding on his front door. The two broke apart looking at each other as they heard the yelling coming from the other side.

"Naruto!" Shizune called as she banged on the door again. "Naruto! Wake up!"

"You're late for work." Sakura smiled as Naruto sighed. "You better go, she's been getting worse and worse since Lady Tsunade retired and left you in charge." Naruto chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head and answered the door.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Shizune yelled as he opened the door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Naruto grumbled as he walked away to grab his jacket as Shizune walked in still complaining about Naruto being late but was stopped when she saw Sakura walk from his bedroom back in her own clothing.

"Sakura?" Shizune asked shocked making Sakura smile. "What…?" She trailed off.

"Sorry, Shizune. It's my fault Naruto's late; I had a bit too much to drink last night." Sakura explained as Naruto pulled his jacket on.

"Oh, uh…" Shizune did not know what to say. "I'll…. I'll meet you at the office." Shizune turned away and quickly left leaving Sakura to laugh.

"You have to get to the hospital." Naruto said softly as they walked out together and started towards the hospital. "Don't want both of us to be late for work." Naruto laughed as they stopped in front of the large rebuilt hospital. "You want to meet me in the office when you're done?" Naruto asked, not sure what to say or do.

Naruto was shocked for a split second as Sakura grabbed his jacket and pulled him to her for a deep kiss before he began to kiss back. The two pulled apart with smiles. "I'll see you when I'm done my shift." Sakura turned to walk into the hospital but Naruto reached out grabbing her shirt at her waist, turning her back to him for another deep kiss. "Naruto, we have work to do." Sakura laughed as she pulled away walking into the hospital leaving Naruto standing in place another moment before he started towards his office, not even noticing the looks the villagers were giving. He did not care. He couldn't be happier.


End file.
